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Origin and history of yen

yen(n.1)

Japanese monetary unit, 1875, from Japanese yen, from Chinese yuan "round, round object, circle; dollar coin."

yen(n.2)

"sharp desire, hunger," 1906, earlier yen-yen (1900), yin (1876) "intense craving for opium," from Chinese (Cantonese) yan "craving," or from a Beijing dialect word for "smoke." Reinforced in English by influence of yearn.

also from 1906

Entries linking to yen

yearn(v.)

Middle English yernen, "long for, feel strong desire for," from Old English giernan (West Saxon), geornan (Mercian), giorna (Northumbrian) "strive, be eager, desire, seek for, beg, demand," from Proto-Germanic *gernjan, from PIE root *gher- (2) "to like, want." Related: Yearned; yearning.

Germanic cognates include Gothic gairnjan "to desire," German begehren "to desire;" Old High German gern, Old Norse gjarn "desirous," Old English georn "eager, desirous," German gern "gladly, willingly."

yuan(n.)

Chinese unit of currency introduced 1914, from Chinese yuan "round, round object, circle, dollar coin." Compare yen (n.1).

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